ENG 320: Introduction to English Studies
Objectives
This course is designed to introduce you to the multifaceted discipline of English studies and provide you with a solid foundation for future coursework in your major. We will focus on the methods and theories that are used in the production, analysis, and interpretation of a variety of texts, including works of fiction, poetry, drama, oratory, life writing, film, and other media. The course also includes a general introduction to key concepts and methods in rhetoric. We will also spend some time on the theories and methods associated with cultural studies.
One of our goals will be to understand the aesthetic and social dimensions of written communication in a number of historical periods, emphasizing significant continuities throughout the history of scholarship in literature and rhetoric and at the same time examining the critiques and transformations that basic critical concepts and approaches have undergone in the course of their development.
Our particular focus will be on the complex problem of interpretation. What critical procedures allow us to grasp and to convey the meaning of what we read? How do we know that our interpretations are valid? What are the social and political consequences of our interpretations?
In addition to providing you with a background in English studies, this class is designed to build skills in careful reading, critical thinking, and lucid argumentative writing. Throughout the semester, we will also explore the diverse careers in which you might apply these skills.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course you should be able to
- examine literary texts, films, orations, advertisements, and other forms of artistic and persuasive discourse critically, attending to details such as genre, narrative and poetic structure, style, figurative language, allusions, and logic
- situate texts in their historical and social contexts, accounting for formal, stylistic, thematic, and other relevant features in relation to these contexts
- identify and accurately employ key concepts in literary, rhetorical, and cultural theory
- write clear, coherent analyses of literature, film, oratory, and other forms of discourse for an academic audience
- use available resources, physical and electronic, to conduct thorough and responsible research
- demonstrate sound argumentation in your writing
- document sources accurately and responsibly in your writing in compliance with a standard academic style
Required Texts (available at the UHM Bookstore)
Please use the specific editions of these books. Electronic versions are fine if they are the same edition.
Toni Morrison, A Mercy. Vintage, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0307276766
Noʻu Revilla, Ask the Brindled. Milkweed Editions, 2022.
ISBN: 978-1639550005
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannos, translated by Emily Wilson. Norton, 2021.
ISBN: 978-0393655148
Synder, Timothy and Nora Krug. On Tyranny: Graphic Edition. Ten Speed Graphic, 2021.
ISBN: 978-1984859150
Assignments
Your grade for this class will be based on your performance on the following assignments:
- a take-home mid-term examination (25 points)
- a take-home final examination (25 points)
- a proposal for a scholarly essay (10 points)
- a rhetorical analysis exercise (10 points)
- a creative writing exercise (10 points)
- an oral lightning-round presentation (10 points)
- a scholarly essay (we will break up the components into five separate short assignments) (10 points each, 50 points total)
I will provide detailed guidelines for each of these assignments.